Sheila Murphy
Sheila Murphy is a Research Hydrologist for the USGS Water Resources Mission Area.
Sheila Murphy is a hydrologist who works on assessing and predicting how disturbances (such as wildfire and floods) affect water availability. In 2023 Sheila received a Superior Service Award from the Department of the Interior for making fundamental advancements in understanding the effects that wildfire can have on water supplies.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 61
Chemical characteristics of wildfire ash across the globe and their environmental and socio-economic implications Chemical characteristics of wildfire ash across the globe and their environmental and socio-economic implications
The mobilisation of potentially harmful chemical constituents in wildfire ash can be a major consequence of wildfires, posing widespread societal risks. Knowledge of wildfire ash chemical composition is crucial to anticipate and mitigate these risks. Here we present a comprehensive dataset on the chemical characteristics of a wide range of wildfire ashes (42 types and a total of 148...
Authors
Carmen Sanchez-Garcia, Cristina Santín, Jonay Neris, Gabriel Sigmund, Xose Lois Otero, Joella Manley, Gil Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Claire Belcher, Artemi Cerdá, Abbey L Marcotte, Sheila F. Murphy, Charles Rhoades, Gary J. Sheridan, Tercia Strydom, Peter R. Robichaud, Stefan H. Doerr
Prevailing impacts of river management on microplastic transport in contrasting US streams: Rethinking global microplastic flux estimations Prevailing impacts of river management on microplastic transport in contrasting US streams: Rethinking global microplastic flux estimations
While microplastic inputs into rivers are assumed to be correlated with anthropogenic activities and to accumulate towards the sea, the impacts of water management on downstream microplastic transport are largely unexplored. A comparative study of microplastic abundance in Boulder Creek (BC), and its less urbanized tributary South Boulder Creek (SBC), (Colorado USA), characterized the...
Authors
Anna Kukkola, Robert L. Runkel, Uwe Schneidewind, Sheila F. Murphy, Liam Kelleher, Greg Sambrook Smith, Holly Astrid Nel, Iseult Lynch, Stefan Krause
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael R. Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. Ebel
Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation
Wildfire is a growing concern as climate shifts. The hydrologic effects of wildfire, which include elevated hazards and changes in water quantity and quality, are increasingly assessed using numerical models. Post-wildfire application of physically based distributed models provides unique insight into the underlying processes that affect water resources after wildfire. This work reviews...
Authors
Brian A. Ebel, Zachary M. Shephard, Michelle A. Walvoord, Sheila F. Murphy, Trevor Fuess Partridge, Kimberlie Perkins
Nitrogen isotopes indicate vehicle emissions and biomass burning dominate ambient ammonia across Colorado's Front Range urban corridor Nitrogen isotopes indicate vehicle emissions and biomass burning dominate ambient ammonia across Colorado's Front Range urban corridor
Urban ammonia (NH3) emissions contribute to poor local air quality and can be transported to rural landscapes, impacting sensitive ecosystems. The Colorado Front Range urban corridor encompasses the Denver Metropolitan Area, rural farmland/rangeland and montane forest between the city and the Rocky Mountains. Reactive nitrogen emissions from the corridor are partly responsible for...
Authors
J. David Felix, Alexander Berner, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Sheila F. Murphy, Ruth C. Heindel
Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA
As humans increasingly dominate the nitrogen cycle, deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) will continue to have adverse consequences for ecosystems. In the Rocky Mountains, Nr deposition remains elevated and has become increasingly dominated by ammonium, despite efforts to reduce emissions. Currently, spatial models of Nr deposition do not fully account for urban and agricultural...
Authors
Ruth C. Heindel, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Alexander Liethen, David W. Clow, Toby A. Halamka
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 61
Chemical characteristics of wildfire ash across the globe and their environmental and socio-economic implications Chemical characteristics of wildfire ash across the globe and their environmental and socio-economic implications
The mobilisation of potentially harmful chemical constituents in wildfire ash can be a major consequence of wildfires, posing widespread societal risks. Knowledge of wildfire ash chemical composition is crucial to anticipate and mitigate these risks. Here we present a comprehensive dataset on the chemical characteristics of a wide range of wildfire ashes (42 types and a total of 148...
Authors
Carmen Sanchez-Garcia, Cristina Santín, Jonay Neris, Gabriel Sigmund, Xose Lois Otero, Joella Manley, Gil Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Claire Belcher, Artemi Cerdá, Abbey L Marcotte, Sheila F. Murphy, Charles Rhoades, Gary J. Sheridan, Tercia Strydom, Peter R. Robichaud, Stefan H. Doerr
Prevailing impacts of river management on microplastic transport in contrasting US streams: Rethinking global microplastic flux estimations Prevailing impacts of river management on microplastic transport in contrasting US streams: Rethinking global microplastic flux estimations
While microplastic inputs into rivers are assumed to be correlated with anthropogenic activities and to accumulate towards the sea, the impacts of water management on downstream microplastic transport are largely unexplored. A comparative study of microplastic abundance in Boulder Creek (BC), and its less urbanized tributary South Boulder Creek (SBC), (Colorado USA), characterized the...
Authors
Anna Kukkola, Robert L. Runkel, Uwe Schneidewind, Sheila F. Murphy, Liam Kelleher, Greg Sambrook Smith, Holly Astrid Nel, Iseult Lynch, Stefan Krause
A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies A call for strategic water-quality monitoring to advance assessment and prediction of wildfire impacts on water supplies
Wildfires pose a risk to water supplies in the western U.S. and many other parts of the world, due to the potential for degradation of water quality. However, a lack of adequate data hinders prediction and assessment of post-wildfire impacts and recovery. The dearth of such data is related to lack of funding for monitoring extreme events and the challenge of measuring the outsized...
Authors
Sheila F. Murphy, Charles N. Alpers, Chauncey W. Anderson, John R. Banta, Johanna Blake, Kurt D. Carpenter, Gregory D. Clark, David W. Clow, Laura A. Hempel, Deborah A. Martin, Michael R. Meador, Gregory Mendez, Anke Mueller-Solger, Marc A. Stewart, Sean E. Payne, Cara L. Peterman-Phipps, Brian A. Ebel
Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation Modeling post-wildfire hydrologic response: Review and future directions for applications of physically based distributed simulation
Wildfire is a growing concern as climate shifts. The hydrologic effects of wildfire, which include elevated hazards and changes in water quantity and quality, are increasingly assessed using numerical models. Post-wildfire application of physically based distributed models provides unique insight into the underlying processes that affect water resources after wildfire. This work reviews...
Authors
Brian A. Ebel, Zachary M. Shephard, Michelle A. Walvoord, Sheila F. Murphy, Trevor Fuess Partridge, Kimberlie Perkins
Nitrogen isotopes indicate vehicle emissions and biomass burning dominate ambient ammonia across Colorado's Front Range urban corridor Nitrogen isotopes indicate vehicle emissions and biomass burning dominate ambient ammonia across Colorado's Front Range urban corridor
Urban ammonia (NH3) emissions contribute to poor local air quality and can be transported to rural landscapes, impacting sensitive ecosystems. The Colorado Front Range urban corridor encompasses the Denver Metropolitan Area, rural farmland/rangeland and montane forest between the city and the Rocky Mountains. Reactive nitrogen emissions from the corridor are partly responsible for...
Authors
J. David Felix, Alexander Berner, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Sheila F. Murphy, Ruth C. Heindel
Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA Elevated nitrogen deposition to fire-prone forests adjacent to urban and agricultural areas, Colorado front range, USA
As humans increasingly dominate the nitrogen cycle, deposition of reactive nitrogen (Nr) will continue to have adverse consequences for ecosystems. In the Rocky Mountains, Nr deposition remains elevated and has become increasingly dominated by ammonium, despite efforts to reduce emissions. Currently, spatial models of Nr deposition do not fully account for urban and agricultural...
Authors
Ruth C. Heindel, Sheila F. Murphy, Deborah A. Repert, Gregory A. Wetherbee, Alexander Liethen, David W. Clow, Toby A. Halamka